Ukraine flag
Yesterday I noticed kind of a weird headline:
Fuming Russian mums turn on Putin saying 'our sons were sent to Ukraine as cannon fodder'
It's a news story in a British publication called The Mirror. It's one of those "tabloids" where one of the hallmarks is, they appeal strongly to basic emotions. Some of their stories might be true, some might be a bit "iffy." So I checked it against some other sources, it appears to be true.
...Just the Mirror's headline is more "grabby" -- because that's their style, for the audience to whom they're appealing.
"fuming Russian mums"...
In England (and maybe in the entire UK, I don't know) the informal word for mother is "mum" -- whereas in America we're used to saying "mom."
------------------ The Mirror story says --
---------- [excerpt] --------- The mothers of Russian soldiers have accused Vladimir Putin of deploying their sons as "cannon fodder" in his invasion of Ukraine.
Footage - see above - has emerged of a confrontation with a regional governor, reportedly filmed on a day on which police in Russia detained 4,500 anti-war protesters.
In the video Sergey Tsivilev, governor of the Kuzbass region in Siberia, stood on a stage in a school gym while being confronted by angry soldiers' mothers who were accusing the Kremlin of lying.
"We were all deceived, all deceived," one woman shouted.
"They were sent there as cannon fodder. They are young. They were unprepared."
An uncomfortable-looking Mr Tsivilev shuffled as he attempted to frame Putin's invasion of Ukraine as a "special operation", rather than a war.
However, his attempts to back the Kremlin's propaganda were drowned out by the yells of more women.
One mother butted in, yelling "Used! So our children were used?"
The video did not make clear who the women were and whether their sons had been killed fighting in Ukraine.
...It was a day of violent protests across Russia on Sunday, with 4,460 people arrested by the police for publicly opposing the war. [end / excerpt]
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I could not get the image out of my head, of that guy shuffling his feet uneasily, trying to give an answer to his fellow citizens, when he knows there isn't a good answer, and his country is not free.
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TOWN & COUNTRY
March 7 headline:
Queen Elizabeth Subtly Signals Her Support for Ukraine During a Meeting at Windsor Castle
The bouquet of blue and yellow flowers in the background of the Queen's meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau highlighted the royal family's support for Ukraine.
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When we watch The Crown we learn (or re-learn) the policy where members of the Royal Family are not supposed to speak out on political issues. (Is invasion of Ukraine a "political" issue or a current event?...)
At any rate, the royals have their ways. (subtle signals...)
I remember a news story when the Queen met with President Trump -- the two went for a walk outdoors and the story mentioned that the pin she was wearing was a gift from President Obama.
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